About Last Night in Chia, Colombia: Heaven, Hell, Love, and Purgatory

Who knew travelers could clean up so nice? It was a beautiful blue Saturday in spite of the foolishness with Uber, and we needed to keep the energy and spirits going. Maria, the amazing front desk worker at the hostel, recommended we grab 15 travelers from the hostel and hop on a van to head to Andrés in Chia, Colombia, about an hour outside of Bogotá.

We all put on our finest colognes, brushed, braided, put up our hair, and found those clothes we buried at the bottom of the bag because we didn’t know if we’d actually go out. After all, we’re travelers, and more comfortable in what looks like Goodwill Thrifty finds than what you’d find in a J. Crew window. But hey, we plan for all things.

All 15 loaded the van pretty sober with hopes of the driver stopping by a liquor store on the way. A gas station was our best option, but lucky for us, they had a small selection of some favorite local liquors. Because I am who I am, I went for the cheapest bottle they had, and it just so happened to be the most popular. Aguardiente Nectar! Imagine black jelly beans melted down with vodka poured into it. Surely the 24% alcohol on the front was a lie, unless the other 76% was Hell Water. In the hour it took to get to Andrés, we all finished the 10 bottles on the bus, ate all the Wild Berry skittles, and had enough energy to get us through the 5 hours ahead of us in this crazy place.

Painted faces, great music, Satan, angels, windmills and cows covered the place! How could this not be a good time. Keeping it short: IT WAS THE GREATEST TIME I’VE HAD IN ANY COUNTRY I’VE EVER VISITED!

And now it’s 12:32pm the following day. I’m remembering teaching the locals how to dance, being the center of a dance circle, asking a beautiful Colombian woman to marry me in January after assuring her I didn’t associate all of Colombia with Pablo Escobar, and solidifying friendships I’m sure will last a long time.

Between the 5 of us awake now, we’re piecing together the night and sharing photos, and CRYING from laughter! Nothing but love. Nothing Nothing Nothing but love.

Thanks you, Maria, Andrés, Nectar, Skittle Makers, and all of Colombia for making last night semi memorable! Thank god for photos!